Segun Ogunsanya V. The State (2011)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

F. TABAI, J.S.C.

The Appellant was tried at the Ijebu-Ode Judicial Division of the High Court of Ogun State on a two count charge of conspiracy and armed robbery. The two count charge laid out runs as follows:

COUNT I

Segun Ogunsanya and others now at large on or about the 14th day of July 2001 at Igoya Imowa in the Ijebu-Ode Judicial Division conspired together to commit a felony to writ; Armed Robbery and hereby committed an offence contrary to Section 5(b) and punishable under Section 1(2) (a) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act 1990 as amended by the Tribunals (Certain Consequential Amendments ETC) Act 1999.

COUNT II

Segun Ogunsanya and others now at large on the 14th day of July, 2001 at Igoya Imowo in the Ijebu-Ode Judicial Division while armed with offensive weapons to wit; guns robbed one Alhaji Oshikoya Yinka of the sum of N51,000.00 (fifty one thousand naira) and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(2) (a) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act 1999.

The actual trial commenced on the 30th of July, 2002 with the evidence of the PW1. The prosecution called three witnesses in all. The Appellant never testified in self defence. In his judgment on the 22nd of June, 2004, the learned trial Judge M. A. Ojo found the Appellant guilty. He was accordingly convicted and sentenced to death.

The Appellant was not satisfied with his conviction and sentence and thus proceeded on appeal to the Court of Appeal. In its judgment on the 17th of December, 2009, the decision of the trial Court was affirmed and the appeal dismissed.

The Appellant is still not satisfied with the decision of the court of Appeal and has come on further appeal to this court. The Notice of Appeal was dated and filed on the 28th of December, 2009. It contained three grounds of appeal. The grounds of appeal are:

ONE: The learned Justices of the Court of Appeal erred in law when they held that the trial and conviction of the Appellant was in strict compliance with the rules of fair hearing within the con of Section 36(4) and (6) of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999.

TWO: The learned Justices of the Court of Appeal erred in law and thereby came to a wrong decision when they affirmed the conviction and sentence of the Appellant by the trial Judge.

THREE: The judgment of the Court of Appeal is unreasonable, unwarranted and cannot be supported having regard to the evidence before the Court.

Briefs of argument have been filed and exchanged. The Appellant’s Brief dated the 17th of March, 2010 was filed on the 23rd of March, 2010. It was prepared try Aderibigbe Adedeji. The Respondent’s Brief dated and filed on the 29th of April, 2010 was prepared by Akin Osinbajo learned Attorney-General of Ogun State. In the Appellant’s Brief Mr. Adedeji formulated three issues. The issues are substantially reproductions of the grounds of appeal, they are:

1. Whether the Court of Appeal was right when it held that the trial and conviction of the appellant was in strict compliance with the rules of fair hearing within the con of Section 36(4) of the Constitution of Nigeria
2. Was the Court of Appeal right in affirming the conviction and sentence of the Appellant by the trial Judge
3. Whether the judgment of the Court of Appeal was reasonable, warranted and can be supported having regard to the evidence before the Court.

The Learned Attorney-General however, formulated only a single issue for determination which he couched as follows: